Instrument for boring aligned holes



y 7, 3 J. 1'. CASTLE 2,644,348

INSTRUMENT FOR BORING ALIGNED HOLES Filed D60. 7, 1948 2 Sheet's-Sheet l IN V EN TOR. JOSEPH T CHSTL E.

Ll? 73M A T TORNE Y5.

J. T. CASTLE INSTRUMENT FOR BORQNG ALIGNED HOLES v July 7, 1953 Filed, Deo 7, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. J 05E PH T CASTL E.

WTTORNEYS.

Patented July 7, 1 953 assists UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INSTRUMENT FOR BORING ALIGNED HOLES Joseph Thomas Castle, Cleveland, Ohio Application December 7, 1948, Serial No. 63,912

-1 Claim. (01. 77-2) This invention relates to the art of working metal. The invention was conceived as a solution to the problem of boring accurately aligned holes in the head and base plates of a pillar-type die set such as are used in punch presses and .the like, and the preferred embodiment of the invention, described herein, is directed to this problem.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art, however, that the invention is capable of application to many problems of accurate boring and is not limited to the situation in which its use is exemplified in this specification.

The specific embodiment of the invention disclosed herein constitutes a method and apparatus for boring accurately dimensioned and accurately aligned holes in two heavy iron or steel plates which are to form the head and base plates of a die set. In the further fabrication of these die sets, bushings are customarily pressed into the holes in one plate and pins are fitted in the holes in the other plate. The bushings slide on the pins to guide the two parts of the die accurately in the relative reciprocation. However, the same problem exists whether or not bushings are employed.

Experience has shown that with known machine shop techniques, excessive time is required for boring the holes in the plates, and that even with the exercise of a high degree of skill and care there is often suflicient misalignment of one or another hole so that the die set parts do not slide freely.

- By virtue of the method and apparatus of the invention, however, holes aligned to a high degree of accuracy can be produced in ordinarily less than one-third .of the time required by previous techniques, and by relatively unskilled mechanics. Moreover, accurate work does not require precision machine tools. The invention may be practiced with an ordinary drill press.

The principal object of the invention is to facilitate the boring of holes in accurate alignment. Another object of the invention is to provide' an improved method for boring the parts of pillar-type dies to accommodate the pins. 'A further object of the invention is to provide improved die sets of thepillar type. A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus especially suited to simplify andexpedite the boring of aligned holes and which is inherently adapted to produce work of high quality without requiring'the exercise of craftsmanship. A still further object is to accomplish precision boring with imprecise tools, such as drill presses.

The manner in which these objects are accomplished, and certain ancillary objects of the invention are realized, will be apparent tothose skilled in the art from the description herein of the preferred method and apparatus.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an axonometric view of the apparatus of the invention illustrating the step of drilling a pilot 'hole;

Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating the drilling of an enlargedor rough hole;

Fig. 3 is an elevation, partly in section, illus trating the conclusion of the rough boring operation;

Fig. 4 is a similar View illustrating the final or finish boring operation; f L

Fig, 5 is a plan view or the apparatus; v

Fig. 6 is a partial elevation view, principally in section, on the plane indicated in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a side view of a drill bushing;

Fig. 8 is a side View of a boring bar; and I Fig. 9 is an axial view of a boring cutter.

The method. of the invention may be outlined briefly as follows: The blanks A and B which are being fabricated into the head plate and base plate respectively of the die set are mounted one above the other in parallel relation by means of parallel blocks or the. like on the bed of a drill press, and are held down by any convenient means notshown. The blanks are disposed to project beyond the bed so that the bed does not interfere with the positioning of the lower arm of the boring device of the invention. blanks may be clamped to the bed proper and, where a device such as a radial drill press is used, the tools may be swung so as to bring the work under the head, while for fixed head presses, the work may be positioned by adjustment of the bed. The desired locations for the holes for the pillars and bushings are laid out and center punched on the plate A. The frame C of the boring device is clamped in place immediately over one of the center punch marks. It is then fitted with a drill bushing and both plates are drilled through by a relatively small pilot'drill D in the spindle E of the drill press, as illus-'- trated in Fig. 1. Following this, the apparatus is partially dismantled to provide clearance for a larger drill F (Fig. 2) which also drills through both plates. I

In the third machining step of the invention,

' a boring bar 0- (Fig. 3) is mountedin the frame The holes in the plates A and B, this constituting the rough boring operation.

The machining is completed by repeating the boring operation, as illustrated in Fig. l, with finish size cutters which may be on bar G or on a second bar, if desired. The apparatus is so constructed as to maintain the alignment and position of the boring device at all times.

The preferred method will be further explained after a description of the preferred form of apparatus of the invention. The apparatus is illustrated as a whole in Figs. 1, S, and 4, and Figs. to 9 illustrate details of the construction. As will be apparent from the drawings, the frame C is generally C-shaped and comprises an upper arm II, an upright portion I2, and a lower arm I3; the upper arm is in the form of an approximately annular plate through which is formed a hOle M (Fig. 6). The plate II is preferably a casting separate from the upright portion l2 and lower arm l3, which also are preferably cast. It will be apparent, however, that the parts may be fabricated by machining or welding rather than by casting. The plate H is machined and fitted to the upright member l2 and the two are held in assembled relation by cap screws |5. It will be apparent that these may be unitary, if desired, the utilization of separate pieces being principally to facilitate the casting. The undersurface of the plate I I is machined accurately plane to provide a reference surface by which the bored holes are aligned. Preferably, a handle H, which may be of the general form shown, is formed integral with the upright member I2, serving both to facilitate handling of the device and as a stiffener.

Three bosses I 8, l9, and rise from the upper surface of the plate spaced approximately equi-angularly about the center of the opening M. The inner faces of these bosses are bored and the top surfaces are faced to provide an accurate fit for a bearing bushing 2| which comprises a flange adapted to rest on the upper surfaces of the bosses, and a cylindrical portion 22 turned to fit accurately within the bored inner faces of the bosses. The bearing bushing 2| is formed with a central bore 23 dimensioned to provide a radial bearing for the boring bar G, as illustrated in Fig. 6. The bore 23 is perpendicular to the undersurface of the plate I I. The bushing may be fitted with a pressed pin 24 which fits loosely in any opening 26 in the plate II to prevent rotation of the bushing. The bushing 2| may be held down by a forked clamp 21 adapted to rest on the bushing, provided with a foot 28 and clamped by a thumb screw 29 received in a tapped hole 3| of the plate.

A pilot drill bushing 32 illustrated in Fig. '7 and shown in place in Figs. 1 and 5 consists of a flanged bushing, with a cylindrical portion 33 of an outside diameter adapted to fit the bore 23 of the bushing 2| and with an internal bore 34 of suitable dimension to guide a pilot drill, such as D in Fig. 1. The bushing 32 is, of course, hardened to prevent wear by the drill. The lower arm I3 of the frame is bored and fitted with a bearing 8, is preferably formed with an upper section 4|, an intermediate section 42, and a lower section 43, of progressively decreasing diameter, defining shoulders 44 and 45 to determine the axial location of cutters of the preferred type and receive the axial thrust thereof. Tapped holes 46 and 41 are provided to receive set screws 48 (Fig. 6) which retain the cutters in place.

While the form of the cutters may vary, in the practice of the invention it has been found to be most successful with a cutter generally similar in its action to an end mill, such as the cutter 5|! (illustrated most clearly in Figs. 6 and 9) formed with flutes 5|, preferably four in number, the lower edges of which are the cutting edges, as at 52. The cutters for the operation described herein are provided in pairs, the upper cutter 50 (Fig. 3) ordinarily being larger in diameter than the lower cutter 6|], the cutters being otherwise similar except that the diameter of the internal bore 6| of the cutters of the upper set is such as to fit over the portion 42 of the boring bar whereas the internal diameter of the cutter SE) is such as to fit the portion 43 of the boring bar. A hole 62 for the retaining screw is formed in each cutter.

The most significant fact about the cutting tools is that they are symmetrical, by which term is meant that equally loaded cutting edges are distributed around the periphery of the cutters so that there is no unbalanced load tending to cause deflection of the boring bar, as with fly cutters. The outer diameter of the cutting flutes 5| tapers very slightly toward the top of the cutters.

The bearing bushings 2| and 35 are dimensioned for close fit and guidance on the portions 4| and 43 of the boring bar respectively. The boring bar may be coupled to the spindle E of the drill press or other machine tool by a coupling device It (Figs. 3 and 4) comprising a. standard taper shank. 7| and a transverse rib I2 dimensioned to fit loosely within a transverse slot I3 in the top of the bearing bar. A pin or bolt I4 passing through aligned holes in the tool members ordinarily retains the coupling device I0 removably on the boring bar G. Preferably, the fit between these devices, including the fit be tween the coupling device and the pin 14, is sufficiently loose to accommodate a reasonable amount of misalignment of the spindle E of the drill with the boring bar G. Of course, if desired, other known flexible couplings may be employed in place of that described herein.

Now that the apparatus by which the method is practiced has been described, the foundation has been provided for a full explanation of the method. The size of holes which are desired in the two plates A and B will be known; and cutters, both of the exact finished size of the hole, and rough cutters, which may be any convenient amount smaller than the finishing cutters, will be selected. A roughin drill F, slightly smaller than the smaller of the two roughing cutters, and a pilot drill D dimensioned to fit within the drill bushing 32 are needed. The plates A and B are set up in parallel relation on the drill press table which may be quite simply accomplished with parallel blocks, assuming the plates to be flat. If they are not, the plates are set up in any suitable manner. The centers of the holes are punched on the plate A and the pilot drill D is inserted in the socket With the bearing bushing 2| and drill bushing 32 in place in the apparatus, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the fixture is moved into position over the first one of the ce approximately by setting-the drill in the punch mark, then using the drill to set the device. v "I"l'1e' plate-1| may rest directly on the plate. A, or on parallel 'blo cks' (not' shown vice isthe'nfclamped in 'po tio conveniently"accomplished by v under the plate A'and on; top

which. clamps are omitted fr I order to show the significa'n paratus with greater clarity, i The pilot drillD is --men-run' through both plates in the usualmanner, guided by the bushing 32 (Fig. 1). r :iI' e i t .,1 h e. Tcm ea idw placed by the large drill 'F and the clamp 21, bushing 32, andbushing 2| are removed by loosening the thumb screw 29 to provide clearance for the large drill. Both plates may then be drilled with the large drill, which, in this case, should be slightly smaller than the smaller of the two roughing cutters. However, if desired, after the lower hole has been roughed with the drill i desired. nque- F, a slightly larger drill may be run through the hole in the plate A to increase it to a size approaching the roughing cutter and the plate A. Where such operations are of sufficient frequency, it is also possible and very convenient to use a stepped drill having an upper portion of larger diameter than the bottom portion so that the holes in both plates may be drilled most appropriately for a roughing cut in a single operation.

In general, it is preferable to use two drills or a stepped drill, since this reduces the amount of boring necessary in the upper plate and saves time by making it unnecessary to cut through the upper plate with the lower roughing cutter 60.

In any event, when the rough drilling is completed, the boring bar G with the roughing cutters 50 and 60, which may be conveniently something like 1; inch smaller than thefinished size of the having fourZdges and being balancedwithre however, the apparatus may be set up with great spectfito the reactionz -of the work, areimuch 'faster thanifiy cutters "In' the' finishingopera tionyhow'e've'rf iti's preferable "to use a very slow feed for the cutters so'as toobtain a very smooth cut.""No'ramin'g of'theholes produced by this methodis needed. The "perfection "of the: surface 'wh'ich elim'inates reaming, alsothus eliminates inaccuracies which are often introduced-in ream? lngf f i: l, v 1 This precise curacy of the'machine tool. pressmay be employed. The procedure described above 'is that ord'i narily employed for boring pillar-type die ba's es and'heads. In most cases no great degree of precision as to the exact location of the holes in the plate is required, it only being necessary that the holes in the two plates be accurately aligned with each other and accurately perpendicular to the direction of travel of the dies. If desired,

work does'not dependup'on ac- An ordinary drill precision as to location of the holes as by calipering from some reference point to the bar and then respective holes, is inserted into the lower bearing bushing 36 and the upper bushing 2| is replaced and clamped. The coupling device 10 is then coupled to the boring bar and seated in the socket E of the spindle. With the boring bar thus guided by the bushings 2i and 36, thehole in the upper plate is roughed with the cutter 50, and substantially simultaneously the hole in the lower cutter B is roughed with the cutter 60. As much as a quarter inch of metal may be removed without difliculty. The initial set-up is preferably such that the spacing of the plates approximately equals the spacing of the cutters, in order to save time. Obviously, the space between the plates A and B and the spacing between the plate B and arm I3 must be greater than the width of the cutters. This relation is illustrated in Fig. 3, showing the completion of the roughing operation.

When the roughing cut is completed, the boring bar is withdrawn and either the bar is replaced by a similar bar with the finishing cutters in place or the roughing cutters are removed from;

the bar G by loosening and removing the set screws. 48 and the finish cutters 50a and 60a are I shifting the frame accordingly. A very considerable degree of accuracy may be obtained if the hole 14 is bored parallel and aligned with the mounting for the bushing 2|" by simply using calipers to align the walls of the hole M- with a center punch mark, button, or other reference indicating the desired location-of the hole.

While the plate I I is shown in the drawings as resting on the surface of the plate A, it may be spaced therefrom by parallel blocks, if desired. Obviously, also, the device may be canted by appropriate means to bore holes inclined to the surface of the plate A.

It will be apparent from the above disclosure of the method for finishing holes of different sizes in two plates, that holes of the same size may be finished with a single cutter and that the apparatus is obviously adapted to the boring of a hole through a single plate or block. The apparatus illustrated is adaptable, merely by the provision of cutters of desired sizes, to a great variety of work. Although they are less convenient, cutters larger than the opening I4 may be employed where the plate II is spaced from the work piece, the cutter is held between the two arms of the frame and the bar is fitted through the cutter.

A plane reference surface on the plate I l perpendicular to the axis of the boring bar is the most generally useful. Special surfaces to align the boring bar in a desired manner with particular work pieces could obviously be substituted if such were desired.

Although the foregoing description is necessarily of a detailed character, in order that the invention may be completely set forth, it is to be understood that the specific terminology is not intended to be restrictive or confining, and that various rearrangements of parts and modifications of detail may be resorted to without departing from the scopeor spirit of the invention as herein claimed.

A device for boring aligned holes in a pair of plates comprising a C-shaped frame having upper and lower arms integral with a body portion, the upper arm being in the form of a generally annular plate normal to the plane of the G and provided with a reference surface on theinner face thereof, a seat for a bearing bushing formed on the upper side of the upper arm, said arm being perforate beneath said seat, a bearing bushing aeaases insertable in the seat and positively; located axially thereby, a bearing in the lower arm, the bearing and the bearing bushing being relatively fixed by the ,frame in constant alignment and defining-an axis of rotation oriented with respect to the reference surface, a boring'bar dimen-v sioned' for rotation and reciprocation in the hearing and bearing bushing'and two: symmetrical boring cutters'on the bar, the boring cutters being smaller than the opening in the arm, all so constructed and arranged that the boring bar and cutters may be inserted from abovethrough-the opening in the upper arm and the bearing, bushing may be replaced over the bar and seated in the upper arm.

. JOSEPH THOMAS CASTLE.

8 T References Cited in the me of thiS-patent-= UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,323,267 Hanson Dec. 2,1919 1 1,343,517 Champion et al. June 15, 1920 1,401,262 Kranz Dec. 27, 1921 1,952,342 Vedoe Mar. 27, 1934 2,020,439 Sorensen Nov. 12, 1935 2,167,673 Oberhofiken Aug. 1, 1939 2,351,243 Vetter June 13, 1944 2,451,683 Wantle Oct. 19, 194

.. FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date Germany June 5, 1930 

